PRINCIPALS NOT PROFIT

 

Thursday, August 25, 2022

 

PRINCIPALS NOT PROFIT

 

Matt 6:31-34

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

 

          The phrase “take no thought” is from the Greek merimnao and it means anxious care. Our society is very familiar with this emotion because we have become a world of consumers in which the “bottom line” is the only line we read. We have put the tail before the head and have abandoned the principal things.

 

          Principals are defined as those things that occupy the first place in our thoughts, plans, and actions. Scruples are defined as feelings of doubt or hesitations regarding the morality or propriety regarding certain actions. Convictions are firmly held truths. These three are often blended or braided together to provide the anchor rope for our character. Those who have abandoned these three things defend their position by casting dispersion on those who have retained them.

 

          Identify what is first, what is of greatest value, and what is longest lasting. Without moral fiber or the boundaries these provide, one might conclude that the most profitable way to spend an hour is bank robbery! For the more safety conscious, begging might provide a meager living. However, there are few things quite as safe or satisfying as honest labor.

 

Matt 6:19-21

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, [those things most highly valued] there will your heart be also.

 

Most Holy God, let me not be drawn away by either fortune or fame. Help me to label each piece of life with the proper price. AMEN